I just keep it simple. Watch the ball and play it on merit.

I think I have already spoken a lot. Now it is time for me to play.

At least with me, the match starts much, much earlier than the actual match.

The entire country looks up to me and they have expectations and that’s why I have to work very hard.

My point of view is that when I am playing cricket I cannot think that this game is less or more important.

I never played with a runner in my entire life, even in schools, because only I know where the ball is going and how hard, when I hit the ball, something my runner will never...

And that is the reason why this victory is great, because different players have made contributions to the win.

I have no doubt in my mind that Anil is India’s greatest bowler ever.

People throw stones at you and you convert them into milestones.

I have never thought where I will go, or forced any targets on myself.

It was an innings of great discipline.

Isn’t cricket supposed to be a team sport? I feel people should decide first whether cricket is a team game or an individual sport.

I have played for 15 years and it has been a dream.

At the start of my career, when I used to toss and turn at night, I was fighting that feeling and wanting to go to sleep. Now I know that’s normal, so I’ll just get...

Pakistan have gathered momentum after their test and one-day successes against England. So have we, after our recent run of successes.

I hate losing and cricket being my first love, once I enter the ground it’s a different zone altogether and that hunger for winning is always there.

When there is time to think about cricket, I think but when there is time to be with family, I try to do justice to that aspect of my life as well.

Early in the day, my kids woke me up and took me to their room, which they had decorated for the occasion. It was a pleasant surprise.

I am not thinking too far ahead, just want to take it one thing at a time.

Obviously after such a long gap, one itches to get back to the game and score big runs.

I always had a dream to play for India but I never let it put pressure on me.

Winters is a bit difficult for someone like me but in international matches this does not matter because it will not be the first time that we would be playing in such conditions.

Any active sportsman has to be very focused; you’ve got to be in the right frame of mind. If your energy is diverted in various directions, you do not achieve the results. I need to...

I grew up looking at my father as to how to behave. In watching him I grasped so many things. His own temperament was of a calm person. He was very composed and I never...

The kids were very happy, they woke me up and took me to their room which they had decorated. It looked like they had done a lot of special planning and they were enjoying. It...

If one man is representing India in cricket, then yes, blame that person when things go wrong.

Shoaib Akhtar has been playing for 5, 6 years and is an experienced bowler.

It doesn’t always happen according to the way you have planned things out but I feel if you have covered most of the aspects, it does help out there in the middle.

I wished a kid good health and speedy recovery and he told me ‘my life is in your hands. Only your prayers and wishes will help me recover’. It’s only when you get to hear...

Schools across India do not have teachers, libraries, playing grounds and even toilets. I do not want to see empty classrooms, empty libraries. I do not want to see cattle grazing on fields meant to...

But eventually it is a game of cricket.

THE INTERNATIONAL cricket calendar shouldn’t be so packed with action that it drives spectators away. Also, there should be enough space between cricket events to help players recharge their batteries – not just physically but...

There are over 200 million illiterate women in India. This low literacy negatively impacts not just their lives but also their families’ and the country’s economic development. A girl’s lack of education also has a...

There are a few players who don’t like to think about the game.

I have never believed in comparisons, whether they are about different eras, players or coaches.

At this moment he is bowling well…. but I would like to focus more on what we have to do rather than what they will do to us.

Every individual has his own style, his own way of presenting himself on and off the field.

Before coming here I had a minor back problem and I thought whenever I play Pakistan I get a back problem.

I am sure this book would soon become a collector’s item.

I’m really focusing now on how I can get to the next level as a batsman. How can I get even more competitive? How can I get even more consistent? How can I get better?

Lara’s done very well recently and I never had any doubts about the abilities of Lara or Waugh.

I feel it’s the conscious mind that messes things up. The conscious mind is constantly telling you, this might happen or that might happen, even before it has happened. Your conscious mind tells you the...

Moment there is contact your sub conscious mind knows whether it’s a single or more. It’s that fraction of contact that matters.

I just want to continue the way I am going.

The Australian tour was good for us; it was ideal preparation for us.

I find it difficult to sleep even after all these years because my mind is constantly working and that is the way I have always prepared.

Beating Pakistan is always special because they are a tough team and we have a bit if a history regarding Pakistan.

I think he set great examples in the way cricket should be played and in tough conditions he would produce some tremendous performances,

I am a sportsman and not a politician. I am a sportsman and will always remain one. I am not going to enter politics giving up cricket, which is my life. I will continue to...

It has been frustrating. The last game I played was on April 17.